Frederic Remington bronzes soars at Christie’s
In a sale that realized more than $6.5 million, Christie’s 19th Century American Art sale saw not one, but two, major Frederic Remington bronzes blast through their auction estimates on January 19 in New York City. A cast of Broncho Buster (est. $250/350,000) sold for $478,800 while a cast of The Rattlesnake (est. $150/250,000) sold for $390,600. Not only is Broncho Buster a lifetime cast from 1900, it is also a low cast, No. 46, coming from the Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company. The sand-cast bronze is the celebrated artist’s very first bronze. In the catalog essay, Christie’s quotes Remington himself about how his work will survive: “…[M]y oils will all get old and watery…my watercolors will fade—but I am to endure in bronze…I am doing a cowboy on a bucking bronco and I am going to rattle down through the ages.”
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Championship belt buckle sells at Mesa Old West Show & Auction
On January 21, at Brian Lebel’s Mesa Old West Show & Auction in Mesa, Arizona, a rare Jim Shoulders 1949 championship belt buckle, estimated at $6,000 to $9,000 sold for nearly $13,000 after sustained bidding. Shoulders was considered the “Babe Ruth of rodeo” and the exquisite detail on the buckle suggests as much with finely tooled silver and gold. Show owner Brian Lebel views objects such as high-quality belt buckles, custom saddles, Native American material and other Western items as fine art that is worthy of Western collections. —
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